Human Experience in 1984 and The Brave New World

Texts such as 1984 by George Orwell and the film The Brave New World (TBNW) directed by Larry Williams clearly illuminate how an intoxication of power leads to the loss of freedom, individualism and relationships, all which are vital aspects of the individual and collective human experience. The human necessity for freedom is eradicated in both texts through the oppressive use of power. This is achieved in ‘1984’ through the constant use of surveillance on citizens. In contrast a drug called soma is used in ‘TBNW’ to trap the citizens in a constant state of artificial happiness. Ultimately leading to the citizens in both texts being deprived of expressing their emotions and generating independent thoughts. Individualism is eradicated in both texts by creating a uniform society. This is maintained in ‘1984’ by forming a collective identity where everyone dresses and thinks the same, ultimately leading to the loss in the inherent value of humans. In contrast, individuality is abolished in ‘TBNW’ by categorizing society into five castes: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. Both texts explore how traditional relationships are lost since they don’t provide the emotional connection that is essential to the human experience. This leads to the relationships in ‘1984’ being built on fear. On the other hand, relationships in ‘TBNW’ are built on artificial love, denying individuals the right to nurturing long-lasting relationships.

Both texts highlight how the intoxication of power leads to loss of freedom, ultimately quashing the citizens ability to express their emotions and generate independent thoughts. George Orwell uses repetition of ‘every’ to highlight the loss of freedom, ‘‘You had to live in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and...every movement scrutinized.’ This causes Winston to be instilled with fear and leads to his freedom of thought and speech being lost which are vital aspects of the human experience. Furthermore, it reveals how constant surveillance leads to the subconscious suppression of natural human emotions. This links to Carl Jung’s theory of collective unconscious in a dystopian society which he describes as, “in addition to our immediate consciousness…there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals.” (IN TEXT REF 1) The party continues to suppress free thought and logic by mental manipulation. This is supported by the paradox, “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it… Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy.” This underlines how the party goes to great extents as to controlling objective reality within the citizens mind. This deprives the citizens the ability to generate independent thoughts and furthermore leading to ‘truth’ being formed from the never-ending party propaganda rather than on the basis of logic, reason and empiricism. Therefore, Orwell depicts how constant surveillance and mental manipulation leads to the loss of natural human emotions the ability to form independent beliefs. In contrast, soma is used in ‘TBNW’ to suppress freedom by trapping citizens in constant state of artificial happiness, this leads to a loss of independent thought and emotional suffering. This is evident by the addition of mellow non-diegetic sound when Linda takes a dose of soma. The mellow sound indicates the happiness that soma brings to Linda. Furthermore, the soma symbolizes the perfect sense of mind control, as it ultimately dulls all stimuli that would move an individual into independent thought and action. (IN TEXT REF 2) A close-up shot is used to highlight Linda’s joy by her cheerful facial expressions while she is lying on her death bed overdosed on soma. This highlights how soma creates an impenetrable wall between reality and Linda’s mind. Furthermore, it highlights how emotional suffering is essential to the human experience since it enables an individual to be more resilient and is essential part of spiritual growth. Therefore, Williams highlights how the use of soma results in loss natural emotions and independent thought. This connects to the larger idea that a loss of freedom results in the destruction of integral aspects of the human experience.

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Both texts explore how individualism is lost by maintaining a uniform society; ultimately leading to the loss in the inherent value of humans. This is evident in ‘1984’ by the hyperbole, ‘three hundred million people all with the same face.’ This revels how the sense of identity is lost by creating a uniform society where everyone looks and acts the same. Furthermore, this leads to a loss in religion, culture and individual ideas; all which are critical aspects in what makes us unique as human beings. The party continues to suppress individuality by ensuring that all party members dress the same. This is supported by the visual imagery of Winston’s ‘blue overalls which were uniform to the party’. This creates uniformity and denies the people of Oceania the ability to express themselves in what they wear. Furthermore, this creates a collective identity in Oceania where one is separated from their intrinsic value as humans. Individuality continues to be suppressed in ‘1984’ by denying the citizens the ability to do anything out of their own free will. This is evident when Winston mentions, ‘To do anything that suggested a taste for solitude...was always slightly dangerous...OWNLIFE, it was called, meaning individualism and eccentricity.’ This highlights how the party eradicates anomalies by forcing everyone to participate in the same communal activities such as the ‘The Two Minutes Hate’. Furthermore, this binds the people to the collective identity which is established by the party and results in a loss in one’s unique value as an induvial which is an important aspect of the human experience. In contrast, uniformity is maintained in ‘TBNW’ by splitting society into five castes: Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas and Epsilons. This is evident by the aerial shot of the embryos being scientifically created in a factory. This process leads to all unique traits of an individual being lost since features such as appearance, interests and even intelligence are predetermined to align with one of the castes. Furthermore, this deprives citizens of possessing their own beliefs and ideas, ultimately leading to the loss in their inherent value as humans. Individuality continues to be suppressed in ‘TBNW’ by denying citizens the ability to change castes. This is evident by the tracking shot when a member of the Delta caste attempts to escape the mundane factory that he is working in. This impels how the party attempts to suppress people to their pre-determined path in life. Furthermore, this leads to a loss in individuality since all individuals are forced to conform to the job roles and even level of intellect that aligns with their particular chaste. This connects to the underlying notion that a loss of individualism leads in the devastation of essential aspects of the human experience.

Both texts explore how traditional relationships are lost since relationships are built on fear or artificial love and don’t provide the emotional connection that is essential to the human experience. This is evident in ‘1984’ through the visual imagery of the ‘look of helpless fright on the woman’s greyish face’. This revels how Mrs Parsons is fearful of her own son and highlights how the traditional mother and son relationship is dismantled, since it is absent of any form of love or affection. Furthermore, this leads to the human experience being quashed since we need affection and love for a sense of security. Ultimately, this results in a stronger relationship between the individual and Big Brother. (IN TEXT REF 3 pp66). The unique relationship between Winston and O’Brien can highlight how the party corrupts the traditional idea of relationships. This is evident by the simile, ‘He clung to O’Brien like a baby, comforted by the heavy arm around his shoulders. He had a feeling O’Brien was his protector.’ This revels how O’Brien replaces the father role for Winston, leading to Winston showing his absolute affection and loyalty to O’Brien. Furthermore, this leads to the crumbling of Winston’s human experience since the father-son relationship is a two-way relationship and needs O’Brien to show love and care to Winston to be effective. However, all O’Brien provides Winston is despair and ultimately leads to his downfall. Therefore, Orwell depicts how the traditional idea of relationships are corrupted in’1984’, since the relationships are built on fear and artificial love. In contrast, relationships in ‘TBNW’ are built on artificial love and individuals are denied the right to build long-lasting relationships. This is evident by the diegetic chanting of orgy-porgy as part of solidarity circle before group sex. This contradicts the traditional idea of sex being between two people used to maintain and build long-lasting relationships. However, sex has been twisted into being a source of entertainment and temporary satisfaction for the citizens. Therefore, sex is no longer used to maintain the emotion connection that is essential to the collective human experience between a couple. (IN TEXT REF 4). The relationship between John and Lenina can underline how relationships are built on artificial love. This is evident by the addition of soft non-diegetic sound when Lenina and John first meet. The soft sound highlights Lenina flirtatious behavior towards John and revels Lenina intention in the relationship is just to have sex with John. This leads to a loss in vital aspects of the emotional connection such as trust, loyalty and support, all which are critical in maintain a long-lasting relationship. Therefore, the traditional idea of relationships is corrupted in ‘TBNW’, since relationships are built on artificial love leading and are only short term. This connects to the larger idea that a loss of pure relationships results in decay of the emotional connection that is essential to the human experience.

In conclusion, the two texts clearly portray how the oppressive use of power results in the loss of freedom, individualism and freedom; ultimately ensuring the decay of the individual and collective human experience. Freedom is suppressed in ‘1984’ by constant surveillance and mind control while in ‘TBNW’ soma is used, leading to natural emotion and independent thought being quashed. Individuality is absent in both texts by creating a uniform society; ultimately leading to the loss in one’s unique value as an individual. The traditional idea of relationships is corrupted in both texts and don’t provide the emotional connection that is essential to the human experience. Thus, the two texts demonstrate a clear insight into how the human experience is innately valuable but can easily be corrupted.